According to the Oregon newspaper the Curry Coastal Pilot, a driver who had been severely injured was discovered by a helpful Heathen who called the authorities on his cell phone and administered basic first aid while waiting for help.

How do we know he’s Heathen? Clifton Siple told the newspaper that he was also praying to Njord:

Siple, who was walking his Airedale terrier Dusty when he found Scott lying next to her car on the beach, said he was praying to Njord, the god of the sea, while awaiting rescuers.

“I was just praying to him, ‘hold the tide back a little bit longer so we can get Diane out of here,’” Siple said Friday.

Siple said he is a member of an old Germanic-Scandinavian religion called Asatru. “It’s not a mainstream religion. It’s being reconstructed from a thousand years ago. We’re not naked dancing in the woods,” he said.

Apparently the story has attracted wider interest: “Siple said since the rescue, he had done three interviews and had received calls from NBC’s Today Show and NBC’s Dateline.”

It was nice to see an ordinary person who happens to be Asatru in the news — a welcome break from the usual sensationalistic treatment in the media. It’s also nice to see an example of a Heathen virtue that doesn’t get as much press as the others:

No better burden can a man carry on the road
Than a store of common sense
(Havamal 10)